Rabobank takes 310 million euro provision over expected U.S. settlement

Published 2:11 PM ET Tue, 2 Jan 2018
Reuters

AMSTERDAM, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Rabobank, the Dutch cooperative bank, said on Tuesday it has taken a 310 million euro ($373 million) provision in the fourth quarter of 2017, ahead of an expected settlement with the U.S. government.

In a statement, the Dutch bank said its U.S. unit has been under investigation since 2013 by the U.S. Department of Justice over possible violations of the Bank Secrecy Act "and other regulations and statutes in relation to its historical anti-money laundering compliance program."

Rabobank said the settlement will likely include a guilty plea by its U.S. unit to a single offence related to former employees' withholding of information from the regulator nearly five years ago.

Rabobank said it expects the U.S. investigation to conclude in the first quarter of 2018 but that talks with various authorities are still ongoing. ($1 = 0.8300 euros) (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Adrian Croft)